The Trump administration unveiled plans Friday for the first of 30 oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, along with the first of at least six lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
The auctions were mandated in the megalaw that President Donald Trump signed in July.
The Gulf sale, scheduled for Dec. 10, will open more than 80 million acres for potential oil and gas development. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to hold 29 similar lease sales for offshore parcels in the region over the next 15 years.
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In Alaska, the law requires annual lease sales from 2026 to 2028 and again from 2030 to 2032. The first proposed lease sale would make about 1 million acres available in the Cook Inlet in March 2026.
